1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system and process for removing hardened lubricant from an enclosed gearbox, and more particularly to a system and process for removing dried and hardened grease, contaminants and other debris from an enclosed gearbox of a valve actuator in the gas and oil industry.
2. Description of the Related Art
Grease must bleed oil to perform its lubrication role, and when grease becomes so dry, it loses its ability to release or bleed some of its oil during operation to properly lubricate a bearing in a gear box. Typical oil bleed rates of greases for bearing lubrication are about one percent (1%) to about five (5%) percent. For this reason a bleed rate, using the standard procedure DIN 51817, of >1% is generally required; if the grease bleeds excessively, such as in excess of about six percent (6%), the grease lubrication life will be short.
There are a large number of electrical valve actuators, in particular Limitorque®, that have been in the gas and oil industry in operation since the 1950's and the grease inside the gearboxes has solidified. In order to clean the solidified grease from the enclosed gearboxes, the actuators must be taken offline and manually serviced. Downtime is the oil and gas industry's number one enemy. In an environment where equipment is expected to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week under extreme conditions, downtime caused by equipment failure can quickly affect a company's economic health based on the loss or reduction of production, excess man-hours expended to correct the problem, and possibly replacing the failed equipment with new.
It is therefore desirable to provide a system and process for removing hardened lubricant from an enclosed gearbox of a valve actuator in the gas and oil industry.
It is further desirable to provide a system and process that allows an oil or gas pipeline to continue to operate uninterrupted while the gearbox of the actuator is cleaned of grease, contaminants and other debris in order to place new grease within the gearbox without taking the valve offline.
It is still further desirable to provide a system and process for removing hardened lubricant from an enclosed gearbox of an electrical valve actuator that revives and prolongs the life of the actuator and that greatly reduces equipment failures before they occur.
It is yet further desirable to provide a system and process that utilizes an upstream pump to inject a cleaning agent under pressure in order to break down the grease without causing damage to the gearbox or its parts or causing danger by inhalation, fire, toxicity, etc. in conjunction with a downstream pump to remove the cleaning agent, lubricant, contaminants and other debris, along with minimizing the pressure within the gearbox as part of the circulation process of the flush system.
It is still yet further desirable to provide a system and process that utilizes a rotatable mounting assembly attachable to the gearbox for systematic flushing of lubricant, contaminants and other debris from the valve actuator.
Other advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the claims.